Game of the World Tree

“Scaled Demon? God of Despair?”

Players were left bewildered by the elves’ words.

Selena gritted her teeth and said,

“It’s an evil god that appeared near Maple Leaf Territory in recent years. It claims to be the God of Despair, who delight itself in leading other beings into despair and transforming them into terrifying monsters, which are these Scaled Demons.”

“It managed to deceive one of our companions before, causing them to become corrupted and fall into despair. This ultimately allowed the Borderlord of Maple Leaf Territory to take advantage of the situation, leading to the destruction of our stronghold.”

“Evil god?”

Upon hearing this particular term, the players felt a subtle shift within their hearts, remembering the quest the goddess have given them.

Meryer’s eyes also slanted into a subtle squint.

“An Evil God? I smell a scent that I despise.”

The black dragon bared his teeth and said with a tone full of contempt.

The strange creature referred to as the Scaled Demon of Despair exuded an ominous aura that grew more intense with every passing moment since it emerged.

Thereupon, as it underwent transformation, the demon’s strength also surged and only came to a halt upon reaching Peak Silver-rank.

By now, the overwhelming pressure it emanated caused an unexpected shudder among the players and even Meryer’s eyes shifted to a more serious expression.

Feeling the malevolent and dark aura of the grotesque monster, and the pressure that seemed to directly permeate through their bodies, Demacia, who had already jumped off the dragon’s back, shivered and muttered to himself,

“Ugh…this pressure, why does it feel somewhat familiar?”

Beside him, Li Mu glanced at the demon’s pitch-black scales with a look of uncertainty.

“Its pressure feels somewhat similar to Meryer when he’s angry.”

“Damn! Oh yeah, it does really felt like that!”

Demacia widened his eyes, then along with the other players, couldn’t help but look towards the black dragon.

“Humph! Nonsense!”

Meryer’s snarl echoed, followed by a thunderous roar as he advanced forward and charged at the Scaled Demon.

In an instant, a dragon and a demon locked themselves in a ferocious battle.

Yet, as their clash progressed, an unforeseen development suddenly occurred.

Players were horrified to discover that, after Meryer engaged into close combat with the demon, several tendrils of black energy began streaming relentlessly from the grotesque creature towards him!

Moreover, as this black energy gradually encroached the dragon, Meryer too began to display a growing restlessness, mirroring the enemy he was fighting with.

Meryer’s eyes slowly turned red, as his breathing became more and more intense, whilst his expression became even more ferocious as if he succumbed into a berserk state.

Eventually as their fight continued, the majestic aura surrounding the black dragon began to exhibit signs of chaos.

“Wait… this doesn’t seem right…”

“Is the little black dragon being corrupted by the opponent?”

Some players began to notice that something was wrong.

Little Salty Cat’s expression changed.

“Meryer, quickly get away from that guy!”

However, the black dragon appeared to have already forsaken reason, merely unleashing instinctual roars and persisting in his mindless rampage against the demon.

The berserk state that Meryer was in only further heightened the intensity of their battle, and with each clash, the dragon’s once majestic aura keeps being eroded as it increasingly exhibited signs of chaos.

By now, even the least perceptive players could discern that the black dragon was succumbing to the sinister influence of his adversary’s malevolent power!

“Meryer!”

They wholly felt anxious as this kind of situation never happened before.

The air was thick with uncertainty, and a sense of unease permeated their surroundings.

However, just as the players were on the verge of intervening with the conflict, a soft, holy light suddenly emanated from Meryer’s body, catching everyone by surprise.

[Purification…]

A faint yet resonant voice, divine and solemn, echoed through the vicinity.

While stunned at first, the players soon erupted into expressions of joy:

“It’s the voice of the goddess!”

“Haha! The goddess has intervened!”

“I knew it! If I remember correctly, the goddess adopted Meryer as her pet. Of course, there’s no way she would let him be corrupted!”

Meanwhile, the rescued elves wore expressions of confusion after hearing what the players were clamoring about.

“Voice of…the goddess?”

They too heard the majestic feminine voice, but the elves led by Selena only displayed looks of uncertainty, as this whole series of events happened too fast for their minds to catch on.

Like the sunlight breaking through winter’s grasp or the long-awaited rain quenching the earth’s thirst, an ethereal hymn accompanied the emergence of the radiant light, as it softly wrapped the black dragon in its divine brilliance.

A potent divine aura, teeming with the essence of life, then began to spread, as it bestowed immediate clarity upon all who brushed against its ethereal touch.

Simultaneously, the expanding aura also restored everyone’s physical wounds and weariness in a swift, miraculous manner.

Verdant plants immediately sprang forth wherever the divine aura touched upon, as fresh patches of flowers unfurled one after another in a dazzling display of vibrancy.

On the other hand, the originally clouded eyes of the black dragon’s gradually cleared out but most notably, the Scaled Demon standing on the opposite side began to tremble akin to ice encountering flames.

Pulsating tumors manifested across the demon’s body once more, but the evil aura it exudes began churning with an audible sizzle.

Moments later, the Scaled Demon let out a painful howl before its entire body suddenly collapsed, and its black scales shattered one after another, which gradually turned into ashes.

Its massive body then began to melted away, as it lay onto the ground in a heap of mangled black flesh.

Yet even in death, the black flesh persisted in squirming until it ultimately dissipated into nothingness, after being bathed in the illumination of the expanding divine light.

With the corrupted demon now gone, eventually, everything returned back to a state of calmness.

The land, which had been ravaged in the aftermath of the battle, swiftly transformed into a blossoming landscape, with flowers and greenery concealing the recent damage it had incurred.

Watching this seemingly miraculous scene, whilst still feeling a certain familiar power contained within the recent divine light, the initially bewildered elves finally realized what was happening and could barely contained their excitement.

“T-This power… this power is…”

“It’s…without a doubt the essence of life! T-This is the power of the Divine Matriarch!”

An elderly elf said excitedly.

After speaking, the rest of the rescued elves also began to kneel down one after another, with each one showing utmost reverence towards the newly grown flowers and greenery.

Selena, on the other hand, could do nothing but simply widen her eyes.

She instinctively covered her mouth, unbelievably looking at the blossoming landscape teeming with life, as she observed the lingering light green particles still hovering within the air.

The Oakhand leader cycled through myriads of expressions such as fear, anticipation, and awe as her entire body began to tremble uncontrollably in pure excitement.

“T-This is—”

“This is the power of our Divine Matriarch.”

A gentle female voice sofly interjected.

Selena instinctively spun around and noticed a tall slender figure draped in clerical vestments slowly approaching her.

Adorned with long, straight golden locks, captivating emerald eyes, and delicate features for which perpetually emanated a gentle expression, the newcomer greeted the Oakhand leader with a soft, familiar smile.

“Selena, long time no see.”

“Alice?! It’s you! You’re alive?!”

Selena showed a surprised expression.

She looked at Alice in a daze for a couple of seconds, with her eyes examining the clerical gown adorning the saintess figure. She then shifted her gaze towards the players around, currently picking up items on the ground, before finally turning to the direction where the expanding holy light had disappeared…

Silence reigned for a couple of minutes as if she was savoring the moment but in the end, Selena’s voice finally returned as she asked with rapt anticipation:

“C-Could… Could it be… all of this is true?!”

Alice didn’t immediately respond.

Instead, she simply drew a familiar tree-shaped symbol upon her chest, then solemnly and devoutly said:

“The Divine Matriarch… has indeed returned.”

After saying this, Alice opened her arms, and the power of faith behind her condensed into a brilliant halo that exuded holy light.

She then looked at these fellow brethren of hers rescued by the players and said with a smile,

“Let’s go home, my dear sister, let’s go home, my fellow brethren…”

For a moment, over a hundred elves stood still in utmost awe.

— 288 —

【 LET’S GO HOME MY FELLOW BRETHREN 】

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